One in 4 women shuns sun lotion and risks cancer

MILLIONS of women are so desperate for a tan that they are putting themselves at risk of skin cancer by not wearing sun lotion abroad.

Millions of women are putting themselves at risk of skin cancer by not wearing sun lotion abroad

With the summer holiday season fast approaching, a worrying survey has revealed that one in four women will not use protective lotions when they go away this year.

This is regardless of the fact that leaving skin unprotected from the sun dramatically increases the risk of developing skin cancer.

Each year in the UK more than 100,000 new cases of non- malignant skin cancer and more than 11,700 cases of malignant melanoma ­– the most aggressive and deadly kind – are diagnosed.

More than 2,750 people die from malignant melanoma each year and rates of the disease have quadrupled over the past three decades, making it the most ­common cancer in women aged between 15 and 24.

Yet a new poll by Macmillan Cancer Support of 1,500 women aged 18 and above for Sun Awareness Week, which begins today, has found that 24 per cent of women believe because they don’t get sunburn, they don’t need lotion.

More than 2,500 people die of skin cancer every year and so it is a real issue

Macmillan Information Nurse Carol Goodman

It also found that 14 per cent of women think suntan lotion is too expensive and 12 per cent believe it does not work.

This is despite the fact that 79 per cent of those surveyed reported been badly sunburnt in the past.

Worryingly, 45 per cent of the women believed that after-sun lotion corrected at least part of the damage done to their skin by being burnt.

Carol Goodman, a Macmillan Information Nurse, said: “As ­people are preparing to go abroad for their annual holiday, it is very concerning that nearly a quarter of British women are putting themselves at risk of skin cancer by not wearing any suntan lotion abroad.

“More than 2,500 people die of skin cancer every year and so it is a real issue.

“You should put on your suntan lotion half an hour before going into the sun, let it soak in and then apply another layer.

“The lotion should be applied thickly to your skin or the protection that you get may only be a quarter of what the bottle suggests.

“It should be reapplied every hour and you should avoid the sun between 11am and 3pm.”

Ms Goodman said the best protection from damage caused by the sun’s ultraviolet rays is either to cover up or to stay in the shade when possible. Wearing a hat and protective clothes is especially important when taking part in aquatic sports such as swimming, sailing and water skiing.

Water acts like a mirror and reflects the sun’s rays and focuses them, which can cause severe burning.

Previous research has revealed that many women believe fake tan acts like sunscreen, protecting them from sunburn.

Some women even think that their foundation make-up guards them from the sun’s harmful rays.

Another study has shown that young, middle-class women are more at risk from malignant melanoma.

The statistic is explained by the soaring use of sunbeds and the greater opportunities for better-off women to take exotic holidays.